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It was not long ago that Twins pitcher Blaine Boyer might have been doing things other than throwing a baseball in a major league uniform this time of year.

He might have been hunting, fishing or golfing. He might have been traveling more. Whatever it might have been, it would have been with his family. The game’s lifestyle which separated him from his growing family played a role in his decision to take a year off from baseball. Players on the fringe who step away seldom get a second chance but Boyer’s decision to walk away put him on the path that led him to being a better pitcher.

It’s hard to imagine but in less than one week the 2015 season will begin. It was a long offseason. There were quite a few changes. There have been some interesting decisions. But for baseball fans, opening day is – or SHOULD be – something to be excited about.

In this series, we’ll be taking a look at the Twins roster. We’ll make some projections and we’ll compare the Twins players to the rest of the American League Central.

Aaron and John talk and/or argue about nearly everything the Twins did in the past week, including demoting Alex Meyer, Trevor May, Aaron Hicks, and Eddie Rosario to Triple-A, choosing Tommy Milone for the rotation, moving an angry Mike Pelfrey to the bullpen, signing Brian Dozier to a $20 million contract, trusting spring training numbers, and what to drink at Mason's Barre. And then they give away a pair of 20-game Twins season tickets courtesy of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.

Prior to Sunday's game in Sarasota, Twins' general manager Terry Ryan said that he and pitcher Mike Pelfrey had a closed door discussion regarding the comments Pelfrey made the day before.

Pelfrey was informed that he would not be the team's fifth starter, he was upset by the staff's decision that he would join the bullpen. When he was asked if he would be open to a trade, a frustrated Pelfrey said he would welcome the opportunity to start again.

Most organizations might view 2015 as an opportunity to have a young starter who has little left to prove at the minor league level to build upon those numbers. Trevor May, however, will not be doing so for Minnesota. Not to start the season anyway.

This morning, first year manager Paul Molitor announced the next handful of roster cuts for the Minnesota Twins. As the team whittles down its roster to 25 players prior to opening day a week from Monday, the group of Fort Myers is going to get smaller. With 31 players now left in camp, Molitor has six more players he must send packing. The latest round however may have caused more confusion than clarity.

I’ve been down here in Fort Myers, Florida, for several days now and I’ve been very slow about posting anything here. My bad.

The newly remodeled stadium at the Twins’ complex (now named “Century Link Field”) is very nice. Much wider concourses and a lot of variety of seating options. I’ve seen parts of a couple games at the new place, as well as a game against the Phillies at their Clearwater home. I plan to also see the Twins take on the Orioles up in Sarasota on Sunday.

On Thursday against the Red Sox, Minnesota Twins’ third baseman Trevor Plouffe was station on the right side of second base. This is certainly a not uncommon alignment to use against David Ortiz but also becoming increasingly common in an era that has seen a massive proliferation in the use of the strategy overall.

The Twins were late adaptors but they have almost gone all-in on the defense, deploying the shift more liberally with most of the credit given to now-manager Paul Molitor. The organization went from 66 shifts in 2013 to over 500 instances in 2014. Like seeing someone take a selfie, baseball’s defensive shifts went from being a weird practice to commonplace.